Materials: Four 48" x 96" pieces of 1/2" drywall
Twenty-four 2" x 4" x 96" studs
Six 1" x 3" baseboard molding
Nine 48" x 96" CDX sheets for 1/2" plywood
4 R-13 insulation w/vapor barrier
2 R-19 insulation w/vapor barrier
One 50' roll of 6-millimeter poly-plastic sheeting
1 dry bag of Quickset tile mortar
1 dry bag of sanded grout
One 250-count 8d common nails
One 500-count 1-1/4" drywall screws
One 250-count 2" drywall screws
One 250-count 3" drywall screws
18 gauge galvanized brads (if you go with shiplap wall covering)
1 dry bag of drywall mud
1 roll of drywall seam tape
2 gallons of primer
2 gallons of paint Special Order Items: 2 boxes of 6" x 6" ceramic tile (ordered to size)
8 wine racks (custom ordered to size)
1 exterior-grade door, insulated, double-pane (ordered to size)
1 cooling unit (WhisperKool Model 1600 was used for this particular project)
1 lighting fixture Note: Due to the complex nature of this particular project, the DIY editors have decided to provide one document (link, above) with the complete instructions and downloadable instructions and to provide a day-by-day account of how the wine cellar was built. Please be sure to refer to the complete instructions for cut sizes, exact measurements and all other intricate details. Day One Gray Mosby, a wine seller and collector, was tired of storing his wine in an old closet in his basement (figure A), so with the help of some friends (including master carpenter, Joe Glass), he built his own wine cellar. - Measure and mark the interior of the closet or space in which the wine cellar will be built.
- Remove the old baseboards, cut the carpet and scrape the old carpet padding off the concrete to create a smooth area for the new ceramic tile flooring.
- For this particular project, the walls were properly insulated with R-13 insulation, so there was no need to tear them out. The ceiling can also stay; however, the recessed lighting will have to go.
Note: Be sure to schedule a licensed electrician to properly terminate the electrical connections. - Before the electrician arrived, Mosby began cutting the 2" x 4" x 96" studs to frame the walls. Framing for a wine cellar is similar to framing for any other interior space. Be sure to take your time and don't forget to double-check your measurements (included in the complete instructions, link at the top of the page).
Note: Like any other do-it-yourself project, this one took a lot of planning and research. Mosby visited other wine enthusiasts' cellars, including a consultation with the experts at Wine Cellar Innovations, a manufacturer of wine cellars in Cincinnati, Ohio. He discovered the unique aspects of building a wine cellar that are different from any other interior home addition. He learned about the importance of having a stable climate control unit (figure B -- this one is a self-contained unit that is 14-1/4" wide, 17" deep and 15-3/4" high), insulation and vapor barriers and racking options. Did you Know? -- Michael Franz, a wine critic for The Washington Post , says, "If you want to age wine, the most important thing you want to ward off is warm temperatures or any fluctuation of temperature that will have the wine spiking up and down. It's well established that hotter temperatures will not only make the maturation process undesirably brief, but it will actually cook and harm the wine." Which means a good cooling unit is vital for the success of any wine cellar. - Measure and mark out the door opening. The door will come from the factory pre-hinged and pre-hung.
- For added support, be sure to double stud (figure C) the roughed in door opening.
- The side-wall framing is a little more complicated, mainly because this is where the cooling unit will be mounted. Be sure to refer to the manufacturer's installation instructions, and for the unit that Mosby purchased, a rough opening of 14" x 16" was needed (figure D). Placement of the unit is important for maximum temperature and humidity control.
- Framing the space for the cooling unit is similar to framing the rough-out for a small window. A 2" x 4" header and footer are cut and screwed to the frame (figure E) above and below the opening, with support studs below.
- Raise the framed wall (figure F) and muscle into place, level and attach. Because plywood sheeting will be mounted to the interior walls, Mosby had to install small pieces of 2 x 4s in strategic spots (figure G) to provide a nailing surface for the plywood.
- Secure the framing to the floor by using concrete or TapconB. screws (figure H).
- The new walls should be attached (with screws) to the existing walls in the ceiling joists above.
- At this point, the electrician arrived to take care of all the electrical issues:
- Installing the cooling unit, which called for installing a dedicated circuit (20 amp and 120 volt AC).
- Terminate the recessed lighting and light switch that won't be needed inside the new wine cellar.
- Install a new light switch outside the wine cellar (so it won't interfere with the racking inside).
- Install track lighting.
Day Two - The doorframe is finished by installing the header.
- Install insulation into the ceiling and add a vapor barrier to the interior.
Safety Alert: When working with insulation, be sure to wear a mask and safety glasses/googles. You may want to consider protective gloves as well. - R-19 insulation was used for the ceiling. For this particular project, the insulation was stuffed through the holes left by the removed recessed lighting. The trick is to make sure the insulation is distributed on the ceiling in the proper way -- the paper side facing up and the insulation facing down toward the room.
- Once the insulation is in place, it's time to add another layer of temperature and humidity protection. Remember: The key is to keep the temperature and humidity inside the wine cellar at constant levels of 55 to 58 degrees, with 75 percent humidity. Note: Six-millimeter poly-plastic sheeting was used as the additional layer of protection.
- Staple the 6-millimeter poly-plastic sheeting to the walls inside the cellar (figure I). Overlapping the sheeting is important to make sure there are no gaps in the vapor barrier.
Tip: Another common method to keeping high humidity in a wine cellar is to use moisture-resistant drywall, known as Greenboard (figure J), to cover the walls and ceiling. The heavy poly-plastic that Mosby decided to use can serve the same purpose. - With the vapor barrier in place, it's time to cut the 1/2" plywood sheeting that will be installed on top of the plastic vapor barrier.
- The plywood for the ceiling is the first to be installed, and a hole in the centerpiece is drilled to accommodate the electrical wiring for the ceiling track lighting.
- Once the ceiling is complete, plywood is cut for the side walls. The measurement is shortened by 3/8" to allow for the tile flooring that will be installed later.
- To secure the plywood into place, 1-1/2" drywall screws on the newly framed wall, but longer 2" screws are used on the existing walls in order to drill through the added drywall to hit the studs.
- Once the plywood pieces are all in place, it's time to mark and cut out the space (figure K) for the cooling unit.
- Now the wine cellar is starting to take shape, and the interior is now ready for flooring.
Did you Know? -- Wine needs to line on its side to keep the cork moist. The cork will dry out, and as it does so it will shrink, which means there will be a passageway for oxygen to reach the wine -- and you want to avoid this at all cost because your wine will mature at a pace that's too rapid for its own good. - With the shell of the wine cellar complete (figure L), Mosby turned his attention to the flooring. After much consultation, the choices were carved down to two:
- Wood flooring
- Tile flooring
- Mosby chose to go with ceramic 6" x 6" tile flooring. He felt the smaller tiles would better suit his size wine cellar.
- Before laying out the tile, the bottom sill where the door will be hung was cut removed. Then the threshold line was marked where the first tiles would be laid. Be sure to mark the center line from front to back (figure M) so you can calculate the number of tiles needed.
- The tiles are laid on a layer of thin-set mortar that will act as an adhesive and moisture barrier on the concrete floor. In this case, no additional barrier or sealant will be needed.
- After spreading the thin-set mortar with a 3/8" tooth trowel (figure N), it's time to lay the tile.
- Lay the tile first along the threshold and then the center lines, using 3/8" spacers (figure O) to keep the alignment of the tiles even and the grout lines uniform. This will result in wider than usual grout lines, but this is what Mosby preferred. "A touch of the Southwest," he said.
- Since the floor-to-ceiling wine racks will hide all four corners of the floor, the center of the doorway to the middle of the room will be where the tile work must be as perfect as possible because this area will be the most visible.
- Cut tiles will be placed on the edges of the cellar because they will be hidden by the wine racks.
Note: It should take at least 24 hours for the tiles to fully adhere to the thin-set, and then the grouting of the floor can begin on Day Three.
RESOURCES :
Wine Cellar Manufacturer (Wine Cellar Innovations)
Wine Cellar Innovations
Website: www.winecellarinnovations.com
Specialty Food and Wine Retailer (Sutton Place Gourmet)
Sutton Place Gourmet
McLean, VA 22101
Phone: 703-448-1371
Wine Cellar Cooling Unit
WhisperKool Model #1600
Cools 300 cubic feet!
Wine Cellar Innovations
Website: www.winecellarinnovations.com
How and Why to Build a Wine Cellar
Model: 0967159806
Author: Richard M. Gold, PhD
July, 1996
Order this book from Amazon.com.
Sandhill Publishers
Kelowna, BC V1Y 1Z4
Canada
Phone: 250-763-1406
Collecting Wine: You and Your Cellar
Model: 0732265282
Author: James Halliday
November, 1998
Order this book from Amazon.com.
HarperCollins
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-207-7000
Fax: 212-207-7145
The Wine Collector's Handbook: Storing and Enjoying Wine at Home
Model: 1558214607
Author: Linda Johnson
January, 1998
Order this book from Amazon.com.
The Lyons Press
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 212-620-9580
Fax: 212-929-1836
The Wine Bible
Model: 1563054345
Author: Karen MacNeil
September, 2001
Order this book from Amazon.com.
Workman Publishing Co. Inc.
New York, NY 10003-9555
Phone: 212-254-5900
Fax: 212-254-8098
GUESTS :
Gray Mosby
Wine Buyer & Collector
Sutton Place Gourmet
6655 Old Dominion Dr.
McLean, VA 22101
Phone: 703-448-1371
James Deckebach
4575 Eastern Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45226
Tollfree Phone: 800-229-9813
Website: www.winecellarinnovations.com
CEO
Wine Cellar Innovations
Joe Glass
Master Carpenter
Wine Cellar Innovations
See company contact info, above
Christy Lukemire
Design Consultant
Wine Cellar Innovations
See contact info, above
Michael Franz
Wine Critic
The Washington Post
Information private
Tony Wilke
VP Operations
Wine Cellar Innovations
See company information, above
| ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: | | Build Your Wine Cellar: Roughing Out the Wine Cellar |
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